


Lay Me Down

by softspokenandmean



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Magic, Mystery, Past Child Abuse, Scary, Supernatural Elements, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-02-20 00:23:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13135278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softspokenandmean/pseuds/softspokenandmean
Summary: A teenage boy needs sleep.





	1. Chapter 1

A teenage boy needs sleep. It was not up for negotiation. His early life training with the League of Assassins could only do so much. He was still human after all the shit he’s been through. (Somehow). He had become aware that he was coming to the end of his resources to counterbalance sleep, but he wasn’t his father. Yet. He couldn’t get 3 days wroth of sleep in 3 hours. (That sounded more like magic to him.) Damn him if caffeine became his blood source like it has with Drake. Who the hell knew what Todd fed off of to avoid sleep deprivation? Grayson was Grayson. 

Damian was smaller than most 13 year olds. He believed he was a late bloomer, like Alfred kept reassuring him. Yet a part of him thought it might have something to do with the abuse and deadly training he received since the age of 0. He knew a lack of sleep would only worse the delay. He wanted to grow. 

That’s why when his father called him after another long day out with the Titans, to come home and assist him on parole, he had to shamefully decline. He could barely stay awake during the call. 

“I…apologize, Father, but I cannot assist you. I need sleep.” He felt dizzy as he spoke. 

How could he have let his sleep deprivation get this bad? Mother would have punished him for this. 

“Of course. Get some sleep.” 

“Father!” Damian called before he could cut the transmission. 

Batman stared at him waiting. 

“Can..Can you ask Alfred to come pick me up? I do not believe I can drive myself home.” His voice was low. This was embarrassing.

His father paused. The silence held an emotion. Damian wanted the pause to hold concern, but this way the man who purposely missed his son’s 13th birthday to parole the streets of Gotham. 

“Of course, son. I’ll send Alfred your way.” The transmission was cut before Damian could give his thanks. 

Damian didn’t want to fall asleep while waiting for Alfred, so he occupied his time with writing the report for today’s mission and texting Drake to see if he could lead the Titian’s tomorrow in case he couldn't lead them. Drake jumped at the offer. Damian wasn’t surprised the replacement didn’t have anything else to do. Damian ignored his text of worry, asking him if he was okay. 

Drake didn’t need to know about his life. 

By the time Alfred got to the Titan Tower, it was dark. Damian had managed to keep his eyes open and converse with his teammates about the mission and if they wanted to included anything in the report perfectly. Now that his chance of sleep had arrived, he found it very difficult to keep them open. 

He couldn’t remember the words he exchanged with Alfred as he got into the car. 

The car had been moving but he wasn’t sure for how long. They were out of the city. That was obvious by the amount of trees and flat land and no buildings. He lad his head against the widow, which wasn’t comfortable but his mind didn’t care. He looked up to the night sky and saw the stars and full moon. 

The moon began to glitch. That was not a good sign, but in a world riddled with superheroes, it was hardly his concern.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Damian wanted was some peace and a good night's sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've upped the rating to Teen because this chapter is a bit scary and mentions past child abuse. The story will remain at Teen and will continue to introduce scary themes and violence. I'll post any warnings in the summary before the chapter. I have some idea of a plot but nothings is solid, so I'm just making this up as I go.

His mind and body were awake before his subconscious was. He shot up from his bed, so awake with his muscles so tense he could swear he was going insane. Damian hated it when this happened. It was a strange and overwhelming feeling. His mind and muscles felt like they had ran a marathon while his unconscious in his bed. And if Damian was honest with himself, it felt a lot like waking up from a nightmare. Not that he had nightmares often. He did have years of experience with sleeping while body was active incase of intruders. 

It bothered him in his 13 years of life that he was now realizing how sad that fact was. Nightmares were non-existent to him when he was younger. While having to be alert even when sleeping seemed normal. Like it was something every child should know. As he began to realize how unfair his childhood had been, the more he denied himself the freedom of clarity. 

He couldn’t go back and change his childhood. He couldn’t ask his mother and grandfather to be kinder to him. He couldn’t change a damn thing that lead him to where he is now. Yet, he also didn’t want to accept his realization. He didn’t want to sit in his room and think about how unfair his life has been. And he sure as hell didn’t want to be mindful and “forgive” the people in his life who had hurt him. 

He wanted to forget and pretend everything was fine. He had to. “Move on” was never part of his training and lessons. Holding grudges and completing the mission no matter what was all he learned. 

His sweat dripped onto his sheets as he panted with his head bowed. He controlled his breathing. There was nothing wrong, he would tell himself when this happened. His body was acting up after years of intense training. Panicking over nothing was irrational. Damian Wayne was not irrational. 

He noticed there was light in his room. The blinds were open for the moonlight to enter his room. He stared up at the moon. It wasn’t glitching. Of course the moon wouldn’t be glitching. What he had seen before was a result of sleep deprivation. Another reason why he made the right choice to refuse to go on parol with his father. 

Damian's was aching for some rest. He sighed at he laid back into bed. That’s when he noticed that his pillow and sheets were wet with his sweat. 

“Damn it,” He cursed under his breath. He felt shame and embarrassment. This was not something a child raised by the League of Assassins would experience. 

But you’re not with the League of Assassins anymore. A voice in his head told him. You’re Robin. You help people now. Not kill them. 

Damian closed his eyes. He wasn’t the same boy he used to be. He loved being Robin and working with the Teen Titians and with his father, The Batman. But…He didn’t know who was he anymore. He didn't like that he would have nightmares now. 

Damian opened his eyes, looking down at the edge of his bed. That’s when he noticed the figure in his room. 

He’s whole body ceased up so rigid, he thought he would die right there from shock. 

Damian didn’t move. He didn’t breath. He didn’t blink.

The figure in the corner of his room didn’t move either. It stared at him while sitting in a chair hidden in the shadows. Damian couldn’t see it’s face in the dark, but he could tell that it was human and a man. What he could see awfully well were his eyes. They were a bright yellow with wide pupils and unblinking. The man was wearing pants and shirt, but its skin was wrong. It appeared stretched and the point of cracking. His mind couldn’t explain what he was seeing, but it appeared that man had slipped on a skin that didn’t fit him right. 

He needed to move. He knew he could reach his door, but he didn’t know how fast this man was for him to open the door to run. His father was most likely still out and Alfred would be sleeping. He was alone with this strange man. He decided the best option was to run and get to the batcave and call his father. 

He was about to leap out of bed when the stranger’s eyes gleamed and he became paralyzed. This was not what he was planning on happening. Did the guy read his mind? That didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that he couldn’t move an inch of his body and he was actually starting to panic now. He could feel his heartbeat race at an unhealthy rhythm as sweat tickled his body again. 

He couldn’t move an inch of his body. Not even a finger. He didn’t know what to do. 

He could feel a weight on his throat as it pushed up into his mouth. He kept the weight behind his teeth. He would not scream. Not matter how hard his heart pounded. He was Damian Wayne. He was Robin. He didn’t scream. 

The man began to rise from the chair. His eyes never blinked. He was tall and he smelled. Damian could hear his skin cracking at the pressure of stretching even further. 

The man stood, staring down at him. Damian couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man’s. They were so yellow and bright and empty. Those were not the eyes of a human. There was no moral behind them. No soul. 

The man stepped forward and Damian screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason's an overprotective brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Different POV and a lot of cursing.

The scream that rang throughout the mansion pierced Jason’s ears and froze Alfred’s bones. They shot up from their seat, their bodies on high alert. They abandoned the movie they were watching. 

“It came from Master Damian’s room!” Alfred’s eyes were wide. 

Jason was already out of the entertainment room with Alfred not far behind. He ran around the corner of the hallway, pushing off the wall to avoid crashing into it. He didn’t have his guns on him. Yet that was not going to stop him from killing the person that caused such a sound out to come out of Damian. 

The brat was a pain in the ass most of the time, yet he was still…family. It had taken him years to accept Damian. As it did with Tim, but they both found a place in his heart. Not that he would ever admit it to them. 

Was it possible for an intruder to get through Bruce’s insane security measures? It appeared so. Bruce was going to pop a blood vessel when he found out someone was able to get into the mansion and hurt his youngest son.

It didn’t take long for Jason to reach Damian’s room. Alfred had fallen behind, but only to get a hidden shotgun out from in the library. 

Jason almost ripped off Damian’s door from the force of opening it. Lips pilled back and teeth barring. He was ready to rip of someone’s head. To his disappointment, there was no one in the room but Damian lying on his bed. Silent. 

Jason rushed to Damian’s side. His blood froze when he saw Damian’s eyes were wide, unfocused and unblinking. He called out his name and shook him, but Damian wouldn’t move nor speak. Jason cursed and checked his pulse. He exhaled as he felt a strong kick back onto his fingers. 

His eyes scanned the room, searching for anything that could explain what he was missing. Damian had screamed. The sound of it was fresh in his mind. It was a scream of pure terror. Jason analyzed Damian. He appeared paralyzed and had blacked out. Something happened in this room, but he couldn’t pick up what. 

Jason’s skin began to tingle in frustration. 

His eyes stopped at the corner of Damian’s room near the window. There was a chair in the corner and the cushion on the chair had an imprint. Someone was here. 

Jason growled. 

The window was shut. Jason stride over to it, expecting to find clues, yet he noticed it was locked. 

“What the fuck?” 

The intruded didn’t escape from the window? That was weird. It would have been the quickest means of escape. 

He was still in the mansion. 

Jason turned around as Alfred appeared in the doorway with his shotgun. 

“The bastard is still in the mansion. Take Damian to the batcave and run all tests. He appears to be paralyzed or something. I’m going to go kill this asshole.” 

Alfred didn’t move from the doorway. His face was overrun with sadness and pain upon hearing about Damian’s condition. It only fueled Jason’s rage against the intruder. The mansion was supposed to be a safe place. Yet he deemed people like them could never truly be safe. 

“We’re sticking together, Master Jason!” Alfred’s face hardened. “If this intruder does have something that could paralyze a person than we are better off staying together.”

“We can’t let this bastard get away, Alfred!” 

“And Master Damian and I can’t afford you ending up the same way. If you become victim to the same thing as Master Damian, then we’re sure as dead. Are best strategy right now is to protect and treat Master Damian. He’s our best clue.” 

Jason grind his teeth together, knowing Alfred was right. It just felt so wrong to run. 

“Grab Master Damian and let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter was so short. The hardest part of writing is the writing. I have a clearer idea of what I want in the next couple of chapters so they might not take as long to show up as this one did. 
> 
> Thank you for reading my story!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason gets angry and everyone is worried about Damian.

Jason carefully placed Damian on the examination table. His heart pounded against his chest as he gazed down at Damian’s small frame. He never noticed how small Damian was for his age. When he was 13, he was already 5’ 6”.  


Jason resisted the urge to wrapped Damian in his arms. 

He became more focused. Alfred had placed the Batcave on lockdown once they were inside. It granted an illusion of control over the situation. 

“Master Jason, inform Master Bruce of the situation and check all security while I examine Damian." Alfred prepared his station and put on gloves. 

Jason sighed. The moment he was dreading had finally come. 

As expected, Bruce exploded. He shouted question after question after question. Jason couldn’t keep up. The man was usually the calmest and collected human who ever existed, but when it involved one of his children he would lose it. 

“Nothing is showing up in the cameras nor any signs of tampering with the security.” All Jason could tell Bruce was what he was currently finding out himself. “Alfred is caring for Damian-”

“I’m sending Dick and Tim.”

“I can handle this myself, Bruce.” 

“Master Jason, please, stop grinding your teeth. You’ll ruin them.” Alfred remarked. 

Jason grinds his teeth harder. 

“I know you can, Jason.” Bruce’s tone was soft. “But due to the situation, we need all hands at the mansion. Dick and Tim will help you find out what happened. We’ll have a better chance of finding this person and saving Damian together.” 

“What about you?” 

“I’m trapped inside a bank robbery-hostage situation right now-”

“Bruce! Fuck the bank robbery. Let the police do something for once. You need to be here! God knows what happened to your son!”

“I trust all of you to figure it out till I get there.” The connection clicked off. 

Jason’s mouth hung open. 

He shook it off. He couldn’t be bothered with Bruce’s misplaced responsibilities right now. Jason returned to the security of the mansion. There was something he had to be missing. He could reboot the entire system and see if there were any anomalies while it rebooted. It would take around 4 minutes, but it was 4 minutes with all security offline. The intruder could easily gain access to the Batcave and they’d be in the hands of someone they knew nothing about. 

It would be best to wait for Tim and see if he could find anything. Jason thought. 

“Hm”

“What did you find?” Jason swirled his chair around and rushed over to Alfred, who was examining samples from Damian. 

“I can say there are no signs of toxins or drugs of any kind in his system. His brain scan showed up with something odd. There was abnormal activity throughout the brain.” 

Alfred pulled up Damian’s brain scan for Jason to see. “Now, I believe what we’re seeing right now is simply a digression. His brain has been trying to calm down since we found him. Based on these readings, I can assume, when we heard the scream, he endured an erupt of activity in his brain that was too sudden and very rapid. It’s the point where a person would pass out.”

“Yeah, but this is Damian we’re talking about.” Jason examined the scans. “It looked like his brain was shocked?” 

“Yes, I would say it was ‘shocked’ in some way.” Alfred exhaled. “There are no physical signs of electrocution or any needled holes. Or any wounds for that matter.” 

“What’s this?” Jason tapped on one of the scans. “It looks like the areas with the most severe activity are the amygdala and....the hypothalamus? How is that possible?”

“Well, we can determine that Master Damian was very terrified, which would activate the amygdala. As for the hypothalamus, my best guess would be that it was sudden activated after he was paralyzed or blacked out. It could be a way of his brain trying to protect and calm him down.” 

The scans were a clue but it still wasn’t enough for Jason. 

“His vitals are stable and he is sleeping restfully right now.” Alfred glanced at Damian, feeling relieved. 

Jason stood taller since coming to the Batcave. 

Shrieking from one of the doors signed Tim’s and Dick’s arrival. 

“It’s about time!” Jason walked over to them. 

“Just tell us what happened, Jason.” Tim rolled his eyes. 

Jason quickly brought them up to speed on the events of the night. Tim bit his lower lip as his eyes narrowed and eyes darkened. Dick’s fisted were clenched so hard his knuckles were white and jaw tense. Their only clue was Damian’s brain scans and nothing on the cameras. It was going to be a tough case, but together it was nothing they couldn’t handle. 

They quickly came up with a strategy. Tim would analyze the security system since he was the most knowledgeable about that stuff and Jason and Dick would search the mansion and the grounds for clues. Jason changed into his gear and grabbed two pistols Alfred had in the Batcave and took off to the west wing while Dick took the east wing. 

“It’s possible we’re dealing with a meta?” Tim said through the com. 

“It would better explain Damian’s condition,” Dick replied. 

“How does that explain how he got past all of the security measures?” Jason asked

“Not sure. A meta with multiple powers? I haven’t been able to spot anything wrong with the system. I’d like to reboot it.” 

“Once Jason and I are back at the Batcave, you can. We don’t want to get caught off-guard in the dark.” 

They spent up to 3 hours analyzing every room in the Mansion and the grounds. 3 hours of searching and they found nothing. 

“Fuck!” Jason yelled into the night. “It’s like he just vanished.”

There was a pause from Dick's end. 

“Meet me in Damian’s room, Jason. I want to check something out. I need to grab some stuff from the Batcave first.” 

“Copy that.” 

Jason stopped short and his body went rigid as he entered Damian’s room. It was cold. Very cold. Jason’s mouth was ajar, his breath fogged in front of him, as he stared in disbelief. The curtains danced with the wind.  


The window was open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for the wonderful comments! They mean so much to me and make me smile! I hope you liked the new chapter. It felt like a slow one while I was writing it, but we'll get to more exciting stuff soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things do not get easier for the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news and bad news. 
> 
> Bad news, my computer recently stopped working and I had to take it to a shop. It had the chapter I was originally going to post before this one on it and I really didn't want to struggle with rewriting it so I move on from it. 
> 
> Good news, I have a tablet and managed to write this chapter. Thus, continuing the story. 
> 
> I really hope they can fix my computer so I can use the chapter I already wrote on it to proceed this one next. If not, I'll just continue with the story. Writing on a tablet is really frustrating though. Plus, I would like to not have to buy a new laptop.

The window was open. 

Jason rushed forwarded and stuck his guns out the window along with his upper body. He aimed his pistols in front of him, ready to shoot anything he saw moving. He twisted his body, his guns aimed above him to the towering manor wall. 

There was nothing. Jason dropped his guns to his side and pulled back inside. 

For the first time, Jason felt his anger replaced with a sense of loss. 

He knew he wasn't insane. The window had not only been closed the first time he came into the room but locked. Jason didn't bother to check outside the window because of that reason. 

He analyzed the window and the area around it. His eyes couldn't find anything significant. 

Jason took a step back. His gut was beginning to tell him his eyes and his other senses wouldn't be of any help to him on this case. 

If they were dealing with a meta, then the lack of any physical evidence would make a lot of sense. He's known even the most skilled assassins in the world to unknowingly leave some kind of trace behind. It was a basic human error. 

Jason looked at Damian's bed and then back to the window. Neurons and chemicals swam through his brain and fondled the scene in front of him. 

The window was locked the first time he rushed into Damian's room, (his brain reminded him for what felt like the tenth time). So, either the culprit had been hiding outside the window with the use of its meta powers, (hypothetically). 

Or...

Jason's brain violently punched the pieces together into a single horrifying picture. His stomach dropped to a nauseating level as fear crawled under his skin. His eyes slid to the chair in the corner of the room, the imprint that was left on they cushion gone. 

He never left the room! 

The chill air whispered to him. 

"Jason?" Dick's voice cut through the nightmare. 

Jason turned to face him, keeping his voice steady but not being able to mask the scare on his face. 

It caused Dick unease. 

"He never left the room, Dick." 

"What?"

"When Alfred and I came to Damian's room, the window was locked and there was an imprint of the chair cushion. But when I came back, the window was open and they imprint is gone! He was in this room the whole time!" 

Dick's jaw dropped at the idea. "We are clearly dealing with someone who can mask their presence." 

"Understatement," 

"Do you think he's still here?" he asked quietly. 

Jason raised his hand to the open window. "I highly doubt it."

Dick walked over to Jason and place a hand on his shoulder softly. "We're getting closer to figuring out who are our enemy is. This is good Jason." 

Jason turned his head away. "Feels like giant fuck-up to me." 

Dick resisted a frown. Jason was always the one who felt the most. 

Dick removed his hand and pulled out heavy goggles. "I went back to the cave to get these. They will be able to pick up any evidence of the intruder our eyes can't. Relay what we learned to Tim and Alfred while I check the area." 

Jason didn't say anything as he opened the com to Tim and Alfred. 

Dick slipped on the goggles and went to work. Everything left some kind of trace behind. It wasn't a matter of being good or not at hiding. It was the effect of existence. 

Dick went through a few different settings before it picked something up. The only thing the goggles detected were skin flakes. A lot of it. All over the room. It made the point of entry impossible to determine. It covered the chair near the widow. Some on the window seal, plenty on the floor around Damian's bed, and, to Dick's distaste, on Damian's bed. There was a significant amount of the edge if his bed and around his pillow. 

Dick furiously realized the bastard was probably looming right over Damian as he slept. 

He silently took a deep breath, not to alarm Jason. He had to stay focused. Getting too emotional could cloud his judgment and cause him to miss important findings like Bruce taught him. 

Dick pulled out a small tube and tweezers. He put a generous amount of skin flakes into the tube. 

He searched the room again through different settings of the goggles before he accepted that the skin flakes were all he was going to find. It was wired to find skin but no fingerprints, even smudged ones. 

Dick turned to Jason who was leaning against the doorframe. "I just updated Batman of the situation. He's down with the robbery. Due to the lack of our progress, he's contacting JL Dark to see if one of them can help. He said he doesn't want this dragged out any longer than need be. I guess he finally realized how serious his son's life was in jeopardy." 

Dick almost flinched at the venom his Jason's voice.

"I think it's a good idea. Whoever this guy is, he is obviously someone very dangerous and skilled. This just might be in Dark's league." 

"What'd you find?" Jason nodded to the tube in his hand. 

"Skin. It's everywhere. It's like this guy was shedding." 

Jason's face pulled back in disgust. 

"Let's get back to the cave. This should tell us who this guy is." 

Dick walked towards the door, but before he could make it out Jason spoke. 

"Dick...I'm sorry for the way I'm acting. I'm letting my emotions get to me. It's not professional and it's probably affecting the case."

Dick looked at Jason. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jason." 

It was all he could say. And it was all he needed too because he saw the tension on Jason's shoulders fall off. 

Their coms beeped and Tim's voice spoke in their ear. "Are y'all on your way back?"

"Yeah. What is it, Tim?" Dick answered. 

"Damian woke up. He's still pretty out of it. It's...not good whatever this attacker did to him. Alfred managed to get him to talk and make sense." 

Dick and Jason began running down the hall. "What do we know." 

Tim hesitated. Dick and Jason exchanged a look of unease. Tim was not known to hesitate about anything. 

"Tim?" 

"I don't think we're dealing with a meta. Honestly, I don't think its human." 

A scream broke through the com before Dick could reply. 

It was Damian. 

"Tim!" Dick and Jason yelled simultaneously. "Report! What's happening?" 

The screaming got louder. 

"It's Damian." Time rushed. "He's saying its in the cave! But Alfred and I don't see anything. He's just pointing at nothing." 

"Run, dammit!" Jason shouted. "Get out of the cave and head to safe house-" 

There was a heavy grunt before the com shrieked static. 

"TIM!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I scared myself writing the scene where Jason was piecing things together! I felt my stomach drop as I wrote the words. 
> 
> I really like reading your comments on theories about what could happen. It’s fun. Believe it or not, they actually help me with writing the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for waiting patiently. I hope it was wroth the wait.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian's not himself, Tim struggles, and Alfred just wants his family to be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This chapter starts some time before the events in the last chapter!!**
> 
>  
> 
>  
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> 
> I'm so sorry for the wait but here it is. Thank you for your patience. 
> 
> Also, this chapter wasn't beta reviewed. And that's just due to laziness and wanting to finally update the chapter. If you see any errors, please tell me. I won't get mad.

Tim's fingers lightly tapped on the keyboard as he scanned the codes of the security system for the hundredth time. He was waiting for Jason and Dick to get back so he could reboot the system, but he was beginning to think there was nothing to find here. 

What kind of meta could they be dealing with? And why attack Damian first? Sure, he was the smallest and youngest, but Tim wouldn't agree he was the weakest. It would be the animals. Batcow was with them in the Batcave. Pennyworth was also in the Batcave and liked sleeping next to Batcow. 

"Alfred, do you know where Titus is?"

"He was with Master Jason and me in the entertainment room." 

Tim confirmed it by pulling up the security camera. Titus was clearing breathing and asleep on the sofa. 

After the animals, it would have been Alfred. However, the intruder went straight for Damian. The kid who had the most dangerous background out of all of them. 

No. This guy targeted Damian. 

"Find anything, Master Timothy?" Alfred's voice was low. 

"Nothing is showing up in the codes and I haven't been able to spot anything with the cameras. Yet, I am certain that Damian was targeted. Since this meta can put people into a paralyzed state then he could have easily done the same to Jason. But instead, he chose to run." 

"Hm," 

Tim turned in his chair towards Alfred's lack of a response. 

Alfred was sitting next to Damian, holding his hand and thumb rubbing against Damian's knuckles. Tim's heart tightened up at the sight of Alfred's long face and melancholy eyes. 

Tim stood up from his seat and walked over. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the other side of the table. 

"He's going to be okay. This...is just another setback. For him." Tim had never been good with emotions. 

"I know he's going to be okay, Master Timothy. I never like see any of you like this." 

Tim glanced down at Damian. He didn't like seeing him like this either.

Damian's eye snapped open and he began to scream. His hand gripped onto Alfred's like a lifeline as he shot up from the table. 

Tim and Alfred pulled back alarmed. 

"Damian!" Tim plead. "You're safe. You're with Alfred and me." 

Damian wasn't hearing Tim. His eyes were wide and wild. He shook his head side to side, yet Tim could see that he wasn't taking in his surrounding. He was looking for the person who attacked him. 

Tim didn't know what to do. He had never seen Damian like this. 

Suddenly, Damian jumped off the table and into Alfred's arms. 

"Ooft!" Alfred wrapped his arms around Damian and held him like a small child. "I'm too old for this." 

Alfred's arms around Damian did not keep his body from shaking.

Tim stood from his chair and walked around to Alfred's side. He kneeled in front of Alfred, coming face to face with Damian. 

"Damian?" Tim's voice was soft and gentle. "Can you tell us what happened?" 

Damian didn't move, but continue to shake. Tim didn't know if it was from fear or the aftermath of the paralyzation. Maybe it was both? His face was hidden in Alfred's chest. Alfred brushed Damian's hair, making soft sounds to soothe him. 

Damian clenched the front of Alfred's dress shirt but nodded his head. He exhaled heavily before beginning his story. His voice was small and frail. His voice would crack every few words, but did not shake. The uneven speed of his words and pitch were signs of his fear. 

Tim and Alfred listened quietly. Alfred continued to something Damian through his story by gently brushing his hair. Tim mentally separated himself as Damian's brother. The terror in Damian made urged Tim to protect him now more than ever, yet Tim knew the consequences of allowing emotions to get in the way of a case. He would need to be as objective as possible in order to defeat this...thing Damian was describing.

When Damian finished, he clung closer to Alfred. Tim was starting to wonder how long it will take Damian to recover. 

"Thank you," Tim smiled. "This will helps us start investigating in the right direction." 

He was hesitant about giving Damian the basic victim/witness "thank you for participating! You've been a great help" line. However, it was clear to see, he wasn't speaking to the Damian they were all familiar with. 

Damian didn't respond. Alfred began to hum softly near his ear. 

Tim stood and turned away. He pushed the comm in his ear to connect to Jason and Dick to inform them of the new information. Tim wasn't sure what to tell them. Damian's story only uncovered more questions. 

This was out of their league. 

He wished Bruce was here. 

Tim wasn't able to tell Dick and Jason anything useful before a scream erupted in the cave.

Tim swirled around to Alfred and Damian. Alfred was holding Damian in the tight hug while Damian pointed and screamed. 

"He's here! He's here!" 

Tim pulled out his rod and looked to where Damian was pointing. He ignored Jason and Dick.

There was nothing but empty space. 

Tim looked over at them, but Alfred looked just as confused as Tim. 

"TIM!" Damian shrieked. "He's right in front of you!" 

Tim swung his rod out in front of him and slashed through the air. Tim was not even more confused. He wanted to believe Damian, yet from his perspective this was crazy. 

"Behind you!" 

Tim turned, swinging his rod. It collided with a loud slap into a tall, thin, and terrifying figure. Tim's whole being froze in shock and disgust.  
The monster was everything Damian described it to be. 

His attack didn't move the man-thing at all. He had not used the entirety of his strength, but enough of it that the man should have been knocked down. Considering how thin the man was, it shouldn't take any effort. 

The skin on the man's face began to crack and pop as his broken lips stretched into an impossibly wide smile. It's large hand slapped across Tim's face, launching him through the air and crashing into the cave wall. 

"Tim!" Damian and Alfred feared.

Tim barely registered Jason's and Dick's voice in his ear before the scream of static and then the comm broke. The man was stronger than any of them could have predicted. He was definitely stronger than any human. 

He failed to recover quickly. The back of his head started to become wet with his blood. His mind cried like to was the first time it's been cracked open. His back entire back throbbed like a newly formed bruise. As he slipped off the wall into the ground, he struggled to stand. 

It didn't matter though. The man was in front of him before he knew it. Tim looked up at the man, his head screaming in pain. The man's inhuman smile hadn't faded. The smile didn't match the emptiness of the man's yellow eyes. 

The man reaches down and pulls him up by the neck with one hand. His palm was cold, dry, and prickly due to the cracks in the skin. The man lifted him like he weighed nothing. 

The man's eyes gleamed yellow. 

Tim's face became grim. He knew he was screwed. 

Alfred placed Damian underneath the desk, which was hard to do because Damian was clinging to Alfred like a lifeline. As much as he wanted to hold Damian and wrap him in a blanket and telling him everything was going to be okay now, he needed to save Tim. 

Alfred wasted no time. He pulled out the handgun he had tucked in the back his pants ever since Dick and Jason went to explore the mansion. He unclipped all ten around into the man with precision and speed. 

That got the man's attention. He dropped Tim and twisted his body to Alfred. His eyes gleaming a bright and brighter yellow. 

"Master Timothy, please tell me you're unharmed from this creature's power." Alfred reloaded the gun. 

Alfred didn't hear Tim's reply. The man stood in front of him and lifted him into the air. Alfred heard the cries of his two boys. 

He fired into the man's face. he only got two shots in before the man was waving him up and down like some kind of towel. He then threw Alfred onto the floor and covered his face and shrieked. 

Alfred shouted in pain. He was too old for this.

Tim forced himself to stand. Damian looked like he wanted nothing more than to rush over to Alfred, but couldn't make his body move. Neither one of them would make it to Alfred in time. The man had recovered and stared down at Alfred in rage. 

Thankfully, they didn't have too. A pentagram appeared on the floor in the middle of the cave. Batman and John Constantine appeared a moment later. 

Batman ran towards Alfred as John raised his hand to the man and shouted out of a spell. The man screamed at John and vanished. Or maybe he became invisible again? John quit is spell and ran through the cave, possibly cashing after the man they could no longer see. 

Tim took a step forward, wanting to be next to Bruce and Alfred, but his vision became blurry and he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, again for your patience. I've been dealing with some personal issues. This chapter was long. I don't think the rest of them will be as long. Do y'all prefer long chapters or short ones? I'm thinking of making the rest of them shorter to update the story faster, but we'll see. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monster is revealed.

A dense fog was beginning to clear from Damian's mind. The paralyzes had worn off, yet it had left his body stiff and his mind plagued with an insanity level of fear. 

He didn't have the slightest idea what was going on. He didn't know who the man or creature was or why he was after him. He had not been himself when the paralyze wore off. When he jumped into Alfred's ancient, warm arms. His matured mind (for a child) couldn't decide if it had been a side effect or if he had truly been so terrified. 

He had no clear memory of ever feeling this level of horror. And that was a heavy claim considering the life he was born into. 

None of it mattered anymore. Father was here now. Everything was going to be fine. 

When Damian saw Tim crash to the ground, he pulled his body out from the shelter of the desk and rushed over to him. Father was caring for Alfred. 

"Drake?" Damian kneeled in front of him, not thinking to mask the thin layer of concern in his voice. 

There was blood falling off the side of Tim's face onto the floor and his hair on the back of his head was wet. Damian checked for a pulse. It was shallow, but he would live. 

He heard his name being called out. He looked over his shoulder and saw Dick and Jason entering the Cave. 

Took you long enough. Damian thought with anger. 

He quickly pushed his emotion down. It wasn't the time for emotions. 

"Drake needs help!" He called. 

He moved aside as Dick and Jason ran up to them. Jason picked Tim up in his arms and carried him over to the examination table he was once on. Damian watched as Alfred, who was wearing bandages placed on by Father, begin treating Tim. Jason moved over to Father and began talking.

Drake would be fine. Damian told himself. He had endured worse. It'll probably just be a mild concussion when he wakes up. 

Damian was slightly startled when Dick kneeled beside him. He had forgotten he was there. 

"Damian?" His voice smooth. "You okay?" 

Damian didn't turn to look at him. He kept his eyes fixed on Tim and Alfred. He willed his body from shaking. 

"I'll be fine." He responded with a push. 

Dick suppressed a frown as he stood up.

Their attention was directed to the heavy footsteps coming from the other end of the cave as John Constantine came back empty handed. 

"Sorry. It got away." John shrugged. 

"It got away!" Damian confronted him. "How? You're supposed to be a magician! You didn't use your magic?" 

John ignored the small child and looked at Bruce. "Good news is this creature is easy to kill. If you can catch it." 

"What is this thing, John? And why is it after my son?" Bruce asked. 

"No one knows how it chooses its victims. Or what it really is. It's always been a sort of a mystery. It's a rare but powerful creature called The Smiling Man."

"The Smiling Man? That's creepy as fuck." Jason said. 

John looked at Damian. "What was your last investigation?" 

"The Titans and I were investigating what appeared to be the start of gruesome murders in Twin City. The victims were torn apart." 

"Were body parts missing? Like the skin, liver, and heart?" 

Damian was taken aback. "Yes." 

"Tell me about the crime scene of the last victim." 

"I found the last victim while investigating an abandoned apartment building. It was a much more recent killing than the other victims." Damian scrunched his nose up, remembering the smell. "I reported it to the police and went back to the Titan Tower."

"Anything else?"

"I suddenly became dizzy and very tired, but I assume it was from hours of staring at a computer screen and the heavy smell of blood." 

"He was too exhausted to go with me on scouting." Bruce cut in. 

"I was tired!" Damian defended. "I am human." 

"He was too tired to drive himself." 

John looked profoundly confused. 

"As I said," Damian blood was starting to rise. "I am...." 

He fell into silence as a memory popped up. 

"The moon glitched." He mumbled. 

"Pardon?" John said. 

"When Alfred was driving me back to the mansion, I saw the moon glitch." 

John thought for a moment. "I think I know why it's after your son. These creatures are normally invisible to the naked eye. They only show themselves before attacking their prey to paralyze them with a power they shoot from their eyes. And then they eat their prey. Alive. They peel the skin off and wear the skin of their latest victim. Which is why they almost never attack children. Not enough skin. They are also fond of eating the liver and heart. The bigger, the better." 

"That doesn't tell us why it's after Damian," Dick said. 

"I walked in on it eating," Damian spoke softly. "I made it mad." 

"Unfortunately, yes. And your sudden exhausting wasn't from a computer screen or the blood. These things can hunt stronger prey by scratching them with their nails, which excretes a sedated-like drug, to make them easier to take down."

Damian pulled his left pants leg up and showed the back of his calf. There were three small, paper-cut thin and even spaced cuts. 

"I just assumed I did that when I scratched my legs," Damian whispered, embarrassed. 

Alfred and Bruce made a mental note to get Damian some moisture cream after this. 

"What about the moon glitching?" Jason asked.

"It followed me." Damian interrupted. "From the apartments to Titans Tower, and then to the Mansion. It was watching me through the window while holding onto the car." 

"It was waiting for the perfect time to attack. It likes to wait for its prey to be isolated. These creatures are very patient and they like taking their time killing. The moon glitching was probably a side effect of the drug." 

John pulled out a cigarette and lit it. 

"How do we kill it?" Bruce growled. 

John blew out smoke and smiled. "Now, this is where the fun comes in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight for Damian's life continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quietly adds a new chapter after months of silence

This was not how he imagined this going. 

Damian walked through the halls of Wayne Manor with his arms crossed and fuming with hatred. 

This was ridiculous. Absolutely preposterous. He told himself. 

Constantine's plan was beneath him. He swears the magic man (or whatever the hell he was) was doing this for laughs. If Constantine wasn't his only way out of this nightmare, Damian would have punched him square in his stupid British face. 

The air in the manor was cold; it sipped into every crack and corner of his home. There was no warmth to be found here tonight. 

Damian glanced over his shoulder. It was terrifyingly silent within the walls of his home. Silence had never bothered him before. So why now?

This agonizingly long night he had found himself in felt like pure hell. 

There was nothing he could do about any of this. He was utterly helpless and he loathed it. He had promised himself in the past he would never allow himself to be weak again. However, Damian was beginning to piece together that helplessness was not a state of mind the victim had control over. 

He never believed he would be the one to feel it. 

Damian clenched his fist till his nails dug into the palms of his hands. He would fight through this. Fighting is what he knew best because a survivor was all he was. A survivor is all he ever will be. 

Pop!

Damian's shoulders tensed as his blood froze. He bravely glanced over his shoulder to be confronted by an empty and dark corridor. 

The mansion was old and it made sounds at night. Those sounds grew when it was cold.

The house made another agonizing pop near one of the windows.

Damian always thought it sounded like the house was groaning from old age. Kind of like what Alfred or his father would do sometimes when they thought no one was around. 

Crack!

Damian's skin crawled. He grabbed his arms to suppress a shiver. Bloody groves took form on his arms from where his nails dug in. 

The house is old. It makes noises. He tried soothing the goosebumps on his arms. 

Snap!

This time he didn't look back. He took off running. 

The hallway stretched out in front of him and no matter how hard he pushed, his legs couldn't carry him faster enough. 

For the very first time, he felt small among the halls of the manor. 

A terribly violent shriek rang throughout the hallways, shaking the glass windows and shattering Damian's eardrums. It was close. 

He tried pushing his legs harder, but he had already given all he had. 

He had finally come to one of the corners of the T hallway and the second he turned the corner, he was graced by the hideous face of The Smiling Man. A set of razor-sharp claws punctured his throats before he could breathe. 

His body exploded into a cloud of thick smoke. 

The Smiling Man gave a scream of bewilderment as the smoke engulfed him. 

Shielded from the soulless eyes of the Man, a door creaked open. Damian slipped out and ran down the other hallway. Johnathan's illusion of him had served its purpose. 

The Smiling Man snapped its head at the sound. It jumped out of the smoke and onto the wall, crawling after the sounds of footsteps. 

"He's behind you," Tim's voice scratched his ear. "Keep running." 

"Like I'm going to sit still and die." Damian mocked as he glided up a flight of stairs. 

Tim had woken up shortly after they started going over the plan. Due to his condition, Bruce placed him on the surveillance team with Alfred. Damian wasn't too happy about having to hear Tim's dry voice in his ear constantly, yet he kept his focus on the main priority; staying alive. 

Damian could hear Tim grind his teeth over the com. "Just keep running, you little Demon. You're almost there." 

Of course, Damian already knew that. It wasn't like he had been sleeping when they went over an action plan. 

He wouldn't be sleeping for a long time after this. 

There were cameras placed in every corner of the manor long before this nightmare started. Constantine had set a spell on the surveillance system, allowing Tim and Alfred to track the creature. It wasn't visible. A static interference on part of the screen was the only indication the monster was there. 

It was hardly anything, but it was enough for them. 

Damian stopped in his tracks in the middle of one of the second-floor hallways. He didn't move a muscle. With his head down and staring at his feet, he took deep steady breaths. He counted. 

The Smiling Man mutely dropped from the wall upon seeing his prey had stilled. With an arm stretched out, The Smiling Man approached. The badly damaged and dead skin on its body popped and snapped loose with every step it took. Flakes of dried skin sprinkled the air as they fell to the floor. The Smiling Man spread his large hand and curved its bone-knife fingers inward, eager to feast on the flesh of his meal. 

Damian stopped breathing. It was unprecedented. He had to keep breathing; to hold some kind of control, but the rock in his throat had ceased his resolve. He closed his eyes. After all his years of intense training since infancy, he had allowed fear of the unknown to cloud his mind. 

His mother and grandfather would be disgusted. 

The window to his left burst open, glass shards glittering in the air. 

Damian dropped to the floor.

"Surprise, fucker!" Jason howled, flying in the manor decked in his Red Hood uniform.

Jason's feet were out in front of him and his twin handguns firing. Only the bullets were not aimed at The Smiling Man, but at the window behind it. 

Jason's military boots collided with the Smiling Man's face and kicked it through the shot-out window. Jason disappeared outside with the creature, still firing away.

"Damian! You're clear! Go!" Tim spoke with urgency. 

He didn't need to be told twice. Damian got up and ran. 

Jason emptied his magazines into the creature as they fell from the second floor. It was thanks to the magically enhanced helmet that Jason was able to see the creature twisting its way out from under Jason to avoid being crushed in the fall. It was thanks to the magically enhanced helmet that Jason was able to reclaim the inches the creature had moved between them. When they hit the ground, Jason pushed all his weight into his feet as his boots smashed into the creature's spine. He felt a crunch under his soles, but the creature didn't appear to care whatever damage it took. It quickly knocked him off and ran. 

It annoyed Jason that the creature found him insignificant, but he pushed the intrusive emotion away.

"It's coming your way, Dick!" He shouted into the comlink as he stood up and ran after the creature. 

Dick, who had been waiting for Jason to send that thing flying out of the manor, pushed his feet off the ground. The pendant Jonathan had given him clenched tightly in his hand. He wasn't going to let this creature get away. He wasn't going to let Damian get hurt anymore. He was going to blast this demon back to Hell. 

Dick rounded the edge of the wall the same time the creature did. The creature's ear piercing shriek didn't stop him. He collided into the creature and slammed the pendant into the creature. An electric current shot through the creature. It's body spasmed and the ungodly sound it vibrated out caused Dick and Jason to fall to their knees in pain, covering their ears. 

The creature spasmed and screamed for what felt like an eternity. Smoke began to emit from its body. When the electric currents stopped, it continued to spasm. 

Dick felt pride and victory swell up his chest as he stood. "It worked!" 

"Good!" Johnathan replied. "It should give Damian time to reach us, but it won't-" 

Dick didn't hear the rest. His brain picked up on the creature's twitching claws and didn't need to think about what that meant as he jumped back. 

However, The Smiling Man was faster as its claws slashed across Dick's face. It's freakishly long arms had no trouble closing the distance. 

Dick screamed and Jason's heart stopped. He wasn't used to hearing Dick scream in pain. 

The Smiling Man saw opportunity in its preys shock and took it. Cold and dry, the creature's hand closed around Dick's throat. Its eyes were rolled back and smoke was still emitting from its body and yet the creature's bodily reflexes had recovered too soon. Dick thought they would have more time. 

It flung Dick through a glass window as if he was some rag doll. 

"Dick!" 

Focus, Jason! Bruce's voice boomed in his head as his peripheral vision caught the creature lunging at him. 

With his gun still raised, he pulled the trigger rapidly. He wanted to blast as many holes as he could into this fucker. 

The creature jumped out the line of fire and into the air. His claws slabbed into solid brick as he scaled the wall and crawled back through the 2nd-floor window Jason had kicked him out of. 

Jason groaned and lowered his gun.

"He's back on the 2nd floor." He informed as he made his way to Dick. 

Dick was back on his feet and quickly tending to the gash across his nose and two on his cheek with the first aid anti-bacteria wipe, cloth, and tape he carried with him. 

Jason winced. The one across his nose was definitely going to leave a scar. The two on his cheek might only leave little white lines if he was lucky. Suddenly, Jason wasn't sure how to approach the older man. Everyone knew how obsessed Dick could get about his appearance. And explanations for facial scars were the hardest to create lies for. 

But Jason didn't have to struggle to come up with any comforting words as Tim's voice started ringing in their ears. "The creature is catching up to Damian! He's heading to the kitchen. Move!"

Tim's order got their asses moving.

In the garden, not far from Jason and Dick, Johnathan's irritated growl was audible to all through the comlink. "How bloody hard could it be to lure a flesh-eating monster to a garden? And here I thought you lot were professionals." His rhetoric question was left in the air as he stood up from sitting in the middle a the large pentagram he had created to capture the beast. "Oh well. On to plan B." 

"Head to the ballroom." Bruce abruptly ordered before promptly shutting off his comlink and glared at the magic user. "Insult my boys again and I'll shatter your larynx." 

Bruce turned his comlink back on and raced towards the ballroom. 

Johnathan rolled his eyes but stayed silent as he followed behind Batman.


End file.
